Over the past week, this story has been circulating the forums, media and blogging sites and has, in fact, been confirmed by Scott MacIntyre through Twitter and MySpace.

Both Scott MacIntyre and Matt Giraud were scheduled to perform Billy Joel’s “Tell Her About It” on the Season Finale of American Idol Season 8 last week.

It was going to be an outstanding showcase, featuring the dueling pianists – Matt, Scott and, special guest, Billy Joel. Great preparation went into the rehearsal of this song – the arrangement is stellar and, as you will soon hear, Matt and Scott sound absolutely superb.

It was a remarkable concept and it would have been a first, as there has never been this level of keyboard talent from previous seasons. Both Matt and Scott, in addition to being wonderful singers, are highly accomplished pianists and songwriters.

Matt Giraud

However, when Billy Joel was not able to appear, the number was cut from the telecast and we were left wondering why Scott wasn’t featured as a soloist, as all of the other members of the Top 13, including Matt, had varying degrees of individual exposure.

I don’t know what the producers were thinking when they made the decision to eliminate this number from the show, but it’s safe to assume that their thought processes lacked transparency and intelligibility.

Both Scott and Matt were more than capable to showcase this number without Billy Joel. Isn’t the show about our Top 13? Have the producers lost perspective about what attracts viewers to American Idol?

And, to add more drama to the mix, Access Hollywood reported that Billy Joel was not contacted or finalized to appear as a guest on the American Idol Finale.

I was waiting for a downloaded version of this song and I am pleased to offer it here on this site. And considering this is a rough recording, I have to say that it sounds pretty spectacular.

Here is what we missed! What a travesty! I can only hope that this number is included during the American Idol Tour this summer.

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About Masterclass Lady

Rosanne (Giallonardo) Simunovic began her musical career in Timmins, Ontario. She studied piano with Anne Pizzale and later, at an advanced level, with Soeur Anita Vaugeois (Sister Cecile of Les Soeurs De L’Assomption in Timmins). Her vocal and accompaniment skills were nurtured by her aunt, the late Dorothea Mascioli.
When Rosanne graduated from O’Gorman High School, she moved on to the University of Toronto where she continued her piano and vocal studies while attaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She was hired as a piano accompanist for several musical companies, most notably, the National Ballet Of Canada. She presently holds an A.R.C.T. Teacher’s Diploma in Voice from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
Rosanne has studied choral conducting with numerous well known Canadian Conductors, including Wayne Riddell of Montreal, Quebec and the internationally renowned Dr. Elmer Iseler.
She has been a founding member of numerous community-based arts organizations: the Timmins Arts Council, later known as Arts & Culture Timmins, the Timmins Symphony Orchestra, and, the Timmins Youth Singers…as well as the TYS Alumnus choir, the Timmins Concert Singers. In 1987, she was also selected to be the conductor of the Timmins Board Of Education Choir, comprised of talented students from Grades 5 to 8.
In 1988, she was elected to the Board Of Directors of the Ontario Choral Federation (now known as Choirs Ontario), where she served as Chair of the Festivals Committee for six consecutive seasons. In 1996, in honour of the Ontario Choral Federation’s 25th Anniversary, Rosanne was selected as one of 25 recipients of the OCF’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding contribution to the choral art. The ceremony was presided by Lieutenant Governor, Hal Jackman.
In November 1997, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Rotary Club Of Timmins to receive the prestigious Paul Harris Award for her years of dedication to the artistic development of young musical talent in Timmins.
In August of 2002, Rosanne Simunovic was selected by the Board Of Directors of Choirs Ontario to serve as Conductor of both the Provincial Junior and Teen Choir Camps, now renamed in honour of the Camp Benefactors, Don and Lillian Wright.
In November 2002, Rosanne was the one of the recipients of the Commemorative Medal for the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, honouring her work in the development of the arts in Timmins.
Under Rosanne Simunovic’s direction, the Timmins Youth Singers and the Timmins Concert Singers have been featured in numerous choral festivals and performing opportunities outside of Timmins. In 1985, they were selected to partici

I am also a Matt fan (and I like Scott as well), Kelsey. As much as I enjoyed this year’s finale, I felt like some essential ingredient was missing. Now, I know EXACTLY what it was. I am a bit peeved with Billy Joel to be honest. Why did he drop out and leave Matt and Scott hanging high and dry? I guess if he had a valid excuse that is one thing, but it better be a good one indeed.

That said, I am just thankful to MCL for providing this never-before-seen clip of Matt and Scott in their extremely cool piano duel! I am blessed to at least see it on my laptop if not on television during the finale (where it should’ve been).

You know what though. As regrettable as this travesty is, it won’t matter in the long run. Matt and Scott both have nothing but opportunities before them. Those two rock, America knows it, and they WILL be an enormous success in the music world!

Not a Scott fan, but it bothered me immensely that he didn’t get any solo time on the finale (Matt at least got a few bars of a group song). I understand why Norman and Tatiana and Bikini Girl got air time – the “crazy” personalities are as much a part of the show as the great singers. But Rod Stewart’s lengthy solo (without *any* of the top 13)? No Doubt performing their hit from 1995 (again, without any of the top 13)?

How are these people more important than the Idols themselves? If anything, they can come back as mentors on AI another week/year. For Scott and Matt, though, this was *their* 15 minutes. As multimillion dollar recording artists, Rod and Gwen should’ve stepped aside and let the poor guys have their chance to remind record producers – and america – what they have to offer.

This is such a shame, but my understanding is that a representative for Billy Joel stated that he was not contacted and asked to be on the finale. I have no idea exactly what happened here, but it sure would have been nice to give these two young men their moment on the show.

Even without Billy Joel, I thought Scott and Matt and their dueling pianos did a great job. It’s disappointing that we had to endure the whole bikini girl nonsense and the other dubious so-called Idol awards, instead of being treated to an actual musical performance. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Fergie was also rude to the other Idol singers by practically pushing them out of the way so that she could have her own moment on stage. As far as Rod Stewart, I think he might have been helped by having the other Idol singers as backup.

MCL – thank you for giving us the opportunity to hear a missed opportunity.

Wow! Matt and Scott were terrific–I’m really sorry this was cut from the show. That was very unfair to these guys. I wonder what the real truth is about Billy Joel. A couple of days ago I saw that he’s being sued by his former drummer.

This shows that AI is not necessarily an “equal opportunity platform.” AI owes Scott and Matt an apology along with the opportunity to perform this on the tour. They should also make a video and a single to be sold on iTunes. Even though I’m a huge Adam fan, I have bought other contestants songs. I would definitely buy this duet.
AI needs a BIG rap on the knuckles for this and for the AT&T debacle. They have totally compromised their credibility.

How could AI waste time on Bikini Girl vs. Kara Dioguardi and cut an incredible number like this? Matt and Scott are fantastic! And we, the viewing audience were robbed just as sure as Scott and Matt were.

Between this and the A T & T voting mess which, JMHO, will not just go away, AI should be ashamed.

To think I was forced to watch that petulant nonsense between bikini girl and Kara when I should have been watching the dueling piano players. I thought there was a lot of “filler” nonsense in the finale, and being a matt fan, I was already disappointed I didn’t see more than just a 2 minute into. Now I’m totally bummed I missed that!

Btw, I think Kara is conceited and rude, and I wish AI would cut her from the show. We already have that brand of brutal honesty from Simon, and she can’t pull it off like Simon can. Oh, and I’m not impressed with her songwriting ability either. The AI finale songs are totally trite and hokey. Can’t stand them.

I absolutely love this piece .. just wish that Scott & Matt could have done it on the finale. They really are a great combination, and they really know how to play that piano.
Both artists that I intend to support!!

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[…] so, a week after the Season Finale, the post-show drama continues, first with the revelation that Scott MacIntyre’s and Matt Giraud’s unexpected performance cancellation and now the voting brouhaha for the Final 2 competitors, Adam and […]